CHICAGO (AP) — Michigan coach Dusty May remembers watching Rumeal Robinson and the Wolverines win the national championship in 1989. He also recalls the cultural effect of the Fab Five on college basketball.
Now he is looking to make his own history at the school with a new generation of high-scoring Wolverines.
Michigan is going to the Final Four for the first time since 2018 after routing Tennessee 95-62 on Sunday. Led by versatile star Yaxel Lendeborg,
the Wolverines became the first school to win at least four games in an NCAA tourney by double digits while scoring at least 90 points in each.
“Very, very grateful that all those people have poured in to allow us to represent Michigan, to have all the resources necessary to get here,” May said. “And I think we’re all carrying the flag for all those old guys.”
The 48-year-old May took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2023. He was hired by Michigan in March 2024, taking over a program that was coming off an 8-24 season — the school’s worst record since 1960-61.
The turnaround was a quick one. The Wolverines went 27-10 in May's first season, and now they are going after the program's second national championship.
“We have a group that personally I could have lost with these guys,” May said. “I didn’t think we would because we’re so talented. But if we did, I wouldn’t feel much less about them. I would feel guilty we didn’t give them the experiences that they deserve.”
The transfer portal has been kind to May and Michigan (35-3), playing a major role in the team's success this year. Lendeborg (UAB), Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina), Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois) and Aday Mara (UCLA) all began their college careers at different schools.
Lendeborg was the Big Ten player of the year and the Most Outstanding Player in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. The 7-foot-3 Mara has a school-record 100 blocks this season, and Johnson is averaging 13.2 points. Cadeau's steady play at point guard has become even more important since L.J. Cason was sidelined by a season-ending knee injury.
Cadeau had eight points, 10 assists and two steals against the Volunteers, giving him 1,005 points for his collegiate career.
“He just sets the pace and the tone of the game. ... He sees things that we don’t even see ourselves,” fellow guard Nimari Burnett said. “So, super unselfish guy. So the success that he has, he deserves it and more.”
Next up for Michigan is a national semifinal against Arizona on Saturday in Indianapolis, about 265 miles south of the Wolverines' Ann Arbor campus. Arizona advanced with a 79-64 win over Purdue on Saturday night.
The Wolverines and Wildcats are deep, athletic and unselfish, making for a potentially compelling showdown at the Final Four.
“I've seen a lot of Arizona, just watching big-time games in college basketball,” Burnett said. “We all are fans of good basketball. That's definitely what they do, and we look forward to the challenge.”
___
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
